Actions have consequences — just not always in the way you’d expect.
With the spectre of broad tariffs looming, businesses across all sectors in Bradford are trying to figure out how exactly they’ll be affected.
Thom Mills, owner of Fermanagh Farms wedding and event venue, says that, while no one has outright cancelled a special occasion at the site due to tariff fallout, people are reevaluating their budgets.
“Events, by their nature, are a local purchase,” he said. “Events don’t tend to be import-heavy. Events tend to be more labour-heavy. Event purchases tend to affect local people, whether it’s doing setup and tear down, or hiring a local DJ, or a local caterer. It’s a service industry provided by local people. People need to remember how important it is to celebrate milestones, both in family and corporate context. Keep doing that.”
What will be directly affected by blanket tariffs, which were mostly paused until April by American President Donald Trump? Think access to American liquor, or rising food prices for catering.
However, the largest implications for his sector, he suspects, will come once people and companies begin to tighten their non-essential spending.
“Are we going to have a wedding? Are we going to celebrate that family event? On the corporate side of things, are we going to put a budget to team building?” Mills said. “A lot of times, these things are seen as discretionary and cut from the budget. People are looking at where they can tighten. You might be feeling squeezed as things tighten up, but the tendency to squeeze everybody down the line doesn’t serve.”
Meanwhile, Richard Moore, president of Utilicon, which specializes in engineered, pre-cast utility structures, says Americans are paying the price for tariffs, too.
“We are in the middle of a large job in Colorado, the (purchase order) has already been issued so the tariffs are the responsibility of the end user,” he said. “Trump’s tariffs hurt his own people. Interesting point of view.”
It has been a tumultuous few weeks in a growing trade war between the United States and its North American neighbours, sparked when Trump announced plans for broad tariffs on virtually all Canadian and Mexican imports shortly after his inauguration in late January.
On Wednesday, Trump's 25-per-cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports rolled out; Canada plans to retaliate on Thursday with similar tariffs on U.S. goods worth $29.8 billion.
A tariff is a tax imposed by a country's government on imported goods.
Bradford West Gwillimbury’s economic development staff took initial steps more than a month ago to better understand how tariffs could affect the municipality, developing an online business survey, advocating with higher levels of government, and launching a webpage with resources and links to up-to-date information on the crisis.
And the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses has launched a webpage on the issue and is asking for feedback to help shape its advocacy efforts.
But Mills emphasized Canadian businesses, including those in the special-event sector, are resilient, having survived the health and safety restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“How many of us have really been squeezed, right now, because of the tariffs? It’s a perceived impact, not an actual impact,” he said. “In the unknown, people tend to hunker down and play it safe. There were two years where there were a lot of limitations. This is not on that level. We are not in that, so let’s go. We need to keep things in perspective.”